Christopher c



(No Model.) f

-C- C. SHELBY-l Y CLASP.'

No; 298,508. Patente-d May 13, 1884'.

Mn "UIIIIIIIHI mm1 fzmmh@ 5h62@ @mM-M. r 2f r @Mrap Srafrns CHRISTOPHERO. SHELBY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,508, dated May 13,1884.

Application flied December J, 1883.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, Gnnrsroriinn C. SHELBY, of the city, county, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im- 5 provementsin Glasps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of.

this specification, and to the figures and let- ;Io ters of referencemarked thereon.

In said drawings, Figure l represents a perspective view of a claspconstructed in accordance with myinvention applied to astockingsupporter; Fig. 2, a sectional view of the 1: 5 clasp detached.Figs. 3 and represent modifications thereof; and Figs. 5 and 6 views ofa form of clasp now in use, and upon which my invention is animprovement.

Similar letters of reference in the several :zo iigures denote the sameparts.

rlhe old form of clasp (shown in Figs. 5 and 6) consists of two piecesof springy metal, A B, secured together at one end, as shown at C, andso fashioned and combined as that the narrowed portion of the part Ashall pass through a corresponding opening or slot, b, in the part B,and permit the outer or free ends, c c, to approach each other, andconstitute jaws to grip and hold any material interposed 3o betweenthem. To open the jaws of such a clasp as this it is only necessary topress at the point d, and by overcoming the elasticity of the parts A Bcause the jaws c c to separate. As clasps of this kind have necessarilyto be 3 5 made cheaply in order to be salable, it results that afterconsiderable use the metal loses its springiness, and the jaws of theclasp fail to properly grip the article desired to be held. The form ofthe clasp, however, has the ad- .to vantage of offering no projectingparts to catch upon the person or clothes of the wearer. My presentinvention is designed to so improve this clasp as to insure thedurability and eer- 'fainty of operation, and still preserve the featureof the absence of projecting parts.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the clasp ismade of two parts, D and E,which, instead of being rigidly securedtogether at one end, as in the old 5o clasp, are jointed or hingedtogether at f. The

part E, forward of the pivotal point, is provided with an elongated slotor opening, g, and

(No model.)

terminates in a jaw, h, while the part D, forward of the pivot, has anarrow portion, t', which extends through the opening g in the part E,and terminates in a jaw, j, opposite the jaw 7L. The inner end of thepart E is provided with points k, adapted to enter the webbing or fabricto which the clasp is to be attached, and with wings Z Z, adapted to beturned 6o down against said webbing or fabric. The rear end of the partD, back of the pivot, is downwardly bent, and normally bears against thepart E, thus leaving no projecting part for catching the person orclothing of .the wearer. The elasticity of the parts D and E is notrelied upon in my invention to effect a closing of the jaws, as in theold construction df clasp shown in Figs. 5 and 6 5 but I employ aseparate spring, G, coiled about the pivot f, and arranged so as by itstension to operate to keep the jaws tightly closed. Thus constructed, myclasp retains all the advantages of the old form of clasp due to theabsence of projecting parts, while it enables a cheaper qual- 75 ity ofmetal to be employed in the construe tion of the parts D and E, inasmuchas the elasticity of these parts is not depended upon.

My improvement is susceptible of various modifications, two of which areillustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. That shown in Fig. 8 differs from thatshown in Fig. l only in the respect that instead of the prongs and lugson the inner end of the part E of the latter figure, the said end isprovided with openings or slots o o, for the attachment of the webbingto which the clasp is to be applied.

In the modication shown in Fig. et the parts D and E terminate at theirinner ends, opposite each other, and form in themselves other jaws, r s,while the pivot of the part is extended in bail-like form, andconstitutes a loop for the attach ment ofthe webbing. Either end of thisclasp-that is, either the jaws hj or the jaws 1' s-may be made to graspthe article desired to be held.

My clasp is applicable to a variety of uses; but when used on astocking-supporter or sleeve-adjuster-such as shown in Fig. l-it will befound especially serviceable, the action of the jaws being alwaysreliable, and the absence of any projecting parts preventing it fromcatching upon the clothing or injuring the person of the wearer.

IOO

. Having thus described my invention, what l in a jaw, and provided withthe slot, and the I claim as new is* part D, pivoted to the part E,having the 15 l. The clasp consisting of the parts D and Vcurved forwardportion narrowed to permit it E, pivoted together, the latter having theslot to work through the slot of the other part, and or opening forwardof the pivot and terxninati terminating also in a jaw, and having alsothe ing in the jaw, and the former having the narl portion in rear ofthe pivot turned down and rowed portion extending through the openingadapted to bear upon the part E, and forni 2o in the part E, and alsoAterminating in a jaw, with said part E a second set of jaws, and the asdescribed,'and the independent spring opindependentspring,substantia11yas described. erating on the two parts to keep their jaws CHRISTOPHER C.SHELBY. together, substantially as described. Vitnesses: 2. The claspconsisting of the part E, havl CHARLES E. SEWARD, ing the curved forwardportion terminating JOHN J. SHANLEY.

